


I'm Your Family Too

by evanderblake



Series: Good Game [4]
Category: Good Game - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Good Game, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death, One-Shot, Sad, Whump, rylex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-08 01:05:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14093643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evanderblake/pseuds/evanderblake
Summary: Based off the prompts, "Nobody cares about me," and, "I care about you."





	I'm Your Family Too

The crumpled piece of paper with nearly illegible scribbles fluttered lazily to the floor. Alex’s followed suit, dropping to his knees in the kitchen of their house.

His mom. Dead.

And this is how he finds out? Through a letter he can barely read from his father who made it very clear once again that, unless he has a paying job and a steady career, is not allowed back home.

Not allowed to see his mother. Ever again.

He knew this was coming. He had known she was sick. A fake Facebook profile told him that much. But Facebook couldn’t tell him when she had died.

If he did the math properly, it had been at least three days ago. However, knowing how little his father cared for him, it could have been weeks or even months since she’d passed.

He didn’t cry. He didn’t scream. He didn’t react. Instead, he dropped onto his side, curled into a ball on the cold floor, and closed his eyes.

But he didn’t sleep.

The memories of his mother flooded his mind. He remembered each summer vacation, each camping trip, each time they’d gone shopping for clothes before school started. He remembered how excited she was that he wanted to be a musician, and how heartbroken she was when he couldn’t find a band to join. How her eyes lit up when he handed her his first CD. How she cried when his band broke up.

How his father turned her against him.

How she was constantly disappointed in him.

How she told him he was going nowhere in life.

How she told him that he was no longer her son.

Alex was crying.

Even though she had certainly said all those things, he had hope that some day he could prove her wrong, that he would show her that he was something great, that he was worthy of being her son. And now, after all those years, he had become the coach of one of the most well-known E-Sports teams out there, and he couldn’t even tell her. He couldn’t show her how much money they’d won, or the building they moved to thanks to Lorenzo, or how he had finally fallen in love with someone. She was gone before he even had the chance to prove himself.

He wept pitifully; maybe he was a disappointment after all. His one true dream of being a musician, after so many years, was gone for good. His bandmates had made it abundantly clear that they wanted nothing to do with him, and there was nowhere left to turn.

Did any of that really matter though? He had the most loving boyfriend in the world, a group of great friends, enough money and food to last a lifetime… But when he was alone, just Alex, he was still the man that disappointed his mother. The man who couldn’t prove himself to his parents.

Alex shut his eyes even tighter, trying to drown out everything around him. Trying to fade from existence.

“Alex?”

He stifled a sob. He couldn’t do this right now.

“Alex, what happened?” Ryland asked, shutting front door behind him. He had been at the store grabbing some cleaning supplies. He’d insisted on cleaning all the computers, keyboards, surfaces… something about spring cleaning, although it was September.

He didn’t respond, only curling up tighter, sniffling and crying silent tears as he tried to hold in his breath, his sadness. Ryland didn’t have a clue about his family life, despite how long they’d known each other. He was under the impression that his parents talked to him regularly, that they didn’t disown him.

“Please, Lexi. Talk to me,” he pleaded, sinking to his knees and brushing his boyfriend’s hair out of his face. Beneath the mane, he finally saw Alex’s broken, devastated expression. The tears that flowed from his exhausted eyes glistened in the bright light of the kitchen, and they broke Ryland’s heart.

Alex simply pushed the letter toward Ryland, unable to formulate a proper sentence, to convey his emotions without completely falling apart.

_Alex,_

_Your mother is dead. I’m only sending this letter because your aunt convinced me that it was inhumane to keep this information from you. She has been cremated and her ashes were dumped in the Pacific Ocean, just like she wanted._

_Just because you have received this letter does not mean my view of you has changed. You are no longer my son, and I still want nothing to do with you. Do not try to contact me._

Ryland wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. He hadn’t the slightest clue that Alex had been treated this way for God knows how long. That the man he loved had no one left.

“N-nobody cares about m-me!” Alex wept bitterly, finally letting go of everything he was holding back. His whole body shook and shuddered as he sobbed loudly, loud enough that Ryland wanted to cover his ears, that the floors vibrated beneath them. Ryland had never seen someone so utterly helpless in his life.

Without a second thought, Ryland tore the letter up and tossed it away from them. He pulled his boyfriend into his warm embrace, cradling the older man like a sick child and smoothing his hair out, doing his best to calm him.

“I care about you. I love you more than anyone in the world, Lexi. And… I don’t know what happened with your family. But I’m your family too, right? I’m sorry about what happened to your mom, and like, I know that it’s gonna take a while to get over that. But I’m here for you, y’know? I’ll be here, huggin’ the sad right out of you,” Ryland whispered, kissing Alex’s temple and squeezing him tighter.

Alex’s sobs stopped almost completely, though tears still flowed from his eyes; he couldn’t help it. It was unbelievably rare for Ryland to… initiate physical contact. Usually Alex was the one hanging on him, kissing him, making him feel all flustered and embarrassed. But Ryland wasn’t an idiot; he knew when he had to be the comforter, the protector. And that was now.

“Thank y-you, Ry,” Alex tried to say, his voice coming out as a whisper unintentionally. His voice was definitely going to suffer. He snuggled closer, savoring the moment although it was sad.

In time, however, Alex healed. He was reminded daily that he was loved, not only from Ryland but from his teammates. Everyone was supportive and helpful, even Kamal.

It slowly turned from a sad, painful memory into a happy one.


End file.
